Alcohol septal ablation can help improve blood flow in your heart if you have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy—the most common type of inherited heart disease. Specialists from The Heart Group of Lancaster General Health expertly perform this procedure to treat an enlarged heart.
What Is Alcohol Septal Ablation?
The septum is a muscular wall that separates the left and right chambers (ventricles) of the heart. In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the septum thickens abnormally.
The thickened septum reduces or blocks blood flow. The heart has to work harder to pump blood out to the rest of the body. In many people with HCM, heart weakness results in blood flowing in the wrong direction (mitral valve regurgitation).
Alcohol septal ablation, also known as nonsurgical septal reduction, is a minimally invasive procedure to inject alcohol into the blood vessel that supplies the enlarged part of the septum. The alcohol shrinks the heart muscle to ease blood flow without harming healthy tissue.
Because alcohol septal ablation doesn’t require a large incision, you experience less pain and scarring, a faster recovery, and reduced risk of complications compared to open-heart surgery.
Untreated, this type of cardiomyopathy can lead to heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias) or heart failure.
Who Might Need Alcohol Septal Ablation?
Alcohol septal ablation is most appropriate for people who have a hypertrophic heart and:
- Are over age 65
- Are not eligible for septal myectomy
- Find medications do not relieve symptoms
- Want to become pregnant
Alcohol Septal Ablation: The Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Advantage
Specialists in our Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Treatment Clinic use proven techniques and advanced technology to treat HCM.
When you choose us for alcohol septal ablation, you benefit from:
- Expertise and experience: Our interventional cardiologists are board-certified in cardiovascular medicine and have advanced fellowship training, so you get high-quality care. Our nursing team specializes in caring for people before and after alcohol septal ablation.
- One of the only hybrid ORs in the area: Our interventional cardiologists and surgeons operate together in a state-of-the-art hybrid operating room (OR) at Lancaster General Hospital. Hybrid ORs have the unique technology and advanced equipment to perform minimally invasive and open-heart surgeries at the same time.
- Advanced diagnostics: We use the latest generation of imaging technology, including 3D echocardiograms and cardiac CTs. These sophisticated tools provide high-quality images that help us deliver precise, effective treatment.
What to Expect During Alcohol Septal Ablation
Alcohol septal ablation takes place in the hospital and usually lasts one to two hours. You are awake during the procedure, with light sedation to make you comfortable.
During an alcohol septal ablation, your interventional cardiologist:
- Makes a small incision in your groin.
- Inserts a thin, flexible tube (catheter) into a blood vessel and threads the catheter to the artery that supplies blood to the septum.
- Injects alcohol through the catheter to the overgrown section of septum, so it shrinks.
- Removes the catheter.
- Closes the incision.
About 10% of the time, people experience a slowed heart rate, called bradycardia, after alcohol septal ablation. If this happens, your surgeon inserts a temporary pacemaker to restore your heart rhythm.
Recovery After Alcohol Septal Ablation
After the procedure, you stay in the hospital for up to 48 hours for monitoring. Most people experience rapid symptom relief after alcohol septal ablation and return to normal activities within seven days.
Cardiac rehabilitation can help further support your recovery and speed healing. Our outpatient cardiac rehab and vascular rehab specialists provide education, nutrition support and gentle exercises.
Contact Us
To learn more about our heart and vascular care, call 717-544-8300.